Currently, helical conveyor systems which utilize a central drum as the driving force to convey belting either in an upwards or downwards direction utilize a “drive bar” on the central drum to engage with protrusions extending from an inside edge of the belting and hence push the conveyor belt in a direction of travel. One such example of a drive mechanism is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,181,771, “Positive-Drive Spiral Conveyor”, issued May 22, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference.
However, current designs of the drive bars experience many problems with the belting not engaging correctly with the drive bars, thereby causing improper engagement with the central drum. Additionally, current designs of the drive bars use plastic drive bar caps which are attached to a metal central drum using bolts or similar means, which introduces a number of catch-points which increase the probability of harboring bacteria or other contaminants.